Posts Tagged ‘Obama’

I often touted the term “appearance over substance” in my writing; attributing this character flaw to the left. By this I mean the left values appearance above and beyond reality. As long as things appear as they want them to appear, substance (reality) can go to hell.

The left has many reasons to value and push “appearance over substance”.

Cover up some blunder (Benghazi caused by video, Hillary losing because of Russians)

Not having to deal with an inconvenient truth (Syrian Chemical Weapons, Global Warming Data)

While the right is far from the ideology of substance, they do value substance over appearance more often than not; whereas appearance is a defining characteristic of the left. Granted, the right might be more prone to this failing if they had the great enabler the left does… the Main Stream Media. It hard to push appearance when the MSM calls bullshit all the time (even when it’s not)… it’s easy when given a free ticket.

The reason I bring this up is every now and then we are witness to events where someone has to clean up a mess created by the left when they have pushed appearance over substance (reality). This happened recently when Trump launched missiles on Syrian targets that had just used chemical weapons against civilians.

Now, I’m simply looking at the why Trump felt the need to do this. Not whether or not I agree with the decision; not whether or not it was the right decision, and not whether or not Trump is a hypocrite based on earlier statements concerning Syrian intervention…

Why Trump felt the need to respond in such a manner is totally valid; dead civilians (about 80), especially dead children, at the order of Bashar al-Assad via chemical weapons. Unless you’re just absolutely intellectually bankrupt, these are the facts. And unless you’re completely heartless, you have to admit those facts warrant consideration.

But back to the appearance over substance.

In 2012, President Barack Obama “drew a red line” on Syrian use of chemical weapons, and then did nothing when that line was crossed. That was a problem for Obama, but nothing appearance over substance couldn’t fix. The Obama administration went to work diplomatically. In a deal with the Russians, and with oversight of the United Nations, Syria identified 1300 tons of chemical weapons. These were destroyed and the left crowed about this great success.

2014, “We got 100 percent of the chemical weapons out” of Syria — Former Secretary of State John Kerry2016, January “All chemical weapons declared by the Syrian Arab Republic.” have been disposed of. — Veolia (the firm contracted to carry out the process)2017, January “We were able to get the Syrian government to voluntarily and verifiably give up its chemical weapons stockpile.” — Former national security adviser Susan Rice (NPR)

Get the picture, Obama (and his administration) was so ingenious, that he accomplished diplomatically what he and others failed to do militarily. The only problem was the reality (substance)… Obama didn’t accomplish anything militarily, and he didn’t accomplish anything diplomatically. BUT he was able to give the appearance of accomplishment and that is all he (and the left) thought was needed.

Now, the argument could be made that Obama (and team) “thought” that they had actually accomplished the removal of chemical weapons from Syria, but I don’t think they are that stupid. For Obama’s “diplomacy” to work 1) The Russians had to do what they promised 2) The Syrians had to do what they promised and 3) The United Nations had to be competent in verification. See where I’m going with this? NOBODY is that stupid! Which gets back to the original premise… the goal was never substance (the removal of all chemical weapons) but rather the appearance (of that goal). And for the past several years, as far as the left was concerned… Mission Accomplished.

But NOW, substance has decided to bite us on the ass. Early in the Trump Presidency Bashar al-Assad has again decided to use chemical weapons (that he 100% “voluntarily and verifiably” doesn’t have) on civilians. Trump, faced with the facts (substance), must now make decisions on how to clean up a mess that appeared not to exist for many years now.
Obama’s choice to embrace appearance years ago recently cost a few dozen people in Syria their lives when the (substance) bill came due; no so much in the grand scheme of the cluster-#$@% that is the Middle East. As sad and enraging as this should be… the cost of this choice will pale by a factor of 1000s if/when the bill covering the substance of the Iran Nuclear deal ever comes due.

The wages of embracing deceit over truth is always disastrous and sometimes deadly. There are many such legacy messes left to posterity by Obama and his ilk. We will continue to pay the price, until and unless someone… anyone… applies a little substance.

I can’t help but give a few drive-by TexasLynn insights into the Trump 2016 Presidential victory.

First, to reiterate, I was not a Trump supporter (as many who read my blog know). I was even less of a Hillary supporter, and slightly less for Johnson (Libertarian), and Stein (Nutso/Green).

Trump’s election is the worst possible outcome… except for all the rest.

(See the conclusion of where we go from here…)

What Trump’s Election Means:
The following is a bullet point list of what Donald Trumps’ election means; what those who put him in office are trying to say to the world and to their leaders. There seems to be

This is a repudiation of multiculturalism

This is a repudiation of globalization (same as the Brexit vote)

This is a repudiation of the establishment elites (GOP, Democrats, Media, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, etc…)

This is a repudiation of Obama and his legacy (see more below)

This is a repudiation of Clinton (all things Clinton)

This is a repudiation of the status quo (see change below)

This is a primal scream for change… CHANGE! (Can you hear me now?!)

What Trump’s Election Doesn’t Mean:
Lest we read into this what we want…

This is not an embrace of conservatism (Donald Trump and his policies are not conservative)

This is not a repudiation of liberalism (I wish it was…)

Why He Won:
Elections are more and more divisions of urban vs. rural mindsets. That’s bad news for us rural guys. We’re outnumbered and it’s only going to get worse. Our only hope for influence is for the urban turnout to be muted and for rural turnout to be impassioned. If urban turnout is average or better… it doesn’t matter what we do… they win. Luckily urban turnout is often muted in off-year elections and that, I think, is what happened here. Normal urban voters (particularly blacks) were not inspired by Hillary.

Hillary Knew:
Now this is hindsight, but I really should have seen the signs that a Trump victory was in the works. In my defense, that is hard to do with the entirety of the main stream media (MSM) (and to a lesser extent the minute conservative media); screaming “it’s a done deal”.

There were three signs in the past few days indicating that Trump was likely to win and that Hillary (including her campaign, and the Obama administration) knew it.

Hillary canceled the fireworks over New York. She would not have done that had she not known there was trouble ahead.

(And this is the big one) Every big name Democrat (Obama, Hillary, Bill, Biden, etc…) were campaigning in blue states the last few days of the election. That (in hindsight) was a desperate defensive play (and the proof that they knew). It would have been like Trump having to come and campaign in Texas. If you as a Republican must defend Texas, all is lost. If you, as a Democrat have to defend Michigan or Pennsylvania… all is lost.

(And this is the most consistent bellwether one) TexasLynn thought it was without a doubt going to be a Clinton victory. TexasLynn is never (or at best seldom) right about these things. 🙂

Bringing the Nation Together:
Everybody is talking about how, now, the future President must try to bring the nation together. It sounds nice, and both sides of the aisle like to say and hear it. But, really… As a nation, we’re just too divided. I’m just not that interested in pretending.

Obama and the left may have parroted the words early in 2008, but you dam sure didn’t see them doing something as stupid as acting on it. I’m OK with that. “Elections have consequences.” Say the words, but do what you got to do.

Want to be the first to extend the olive branch? Want to hope we can have less rancor and demonization on both sides of the aisle? OK, make the offer. I just don’t see it as even in the nature of the left. So work together and actually compromise where you can… but other than that… push on.

The Left:
This is one of the few times every few years that I make an effort to watch the MSM. I admit the guilty pleasure of watching them rend their garments and lash out at the uneducated, unwashed, racist, sexist, backwards, basket of deplorables… who just gave them a screwing.

The left over the past eight years has celebrated unconstitutional dictates from the oval office with the excuse that “if Congress won’t act then the President must/should”. Do they still hold that view? If you are changing these types of views dependent upon if you’re guy holds the office, then 1) you’re an idiot and 2) you’re a hypocrite.

Is there some glimmer of hope that the left will actually return to supporting the checks and balances between the three branches of government (if they ever did)? Sure… for four/eight years… but can we ever hope they’ll have the wisdom to see this is the way we should always govern. I admit my doubts that they can make that leap.

Also… get ready for real leftist contortions. In just two short months, the idea that “opposition is racist” will transform into “opposition is virtuous”.

Obama:
Trump’s election pretty well cements the legacy of Obama as a failure. This didn’t have to be the case, but was a political decision made by Obama (and the left) during his tenure. Law (passed by Congress and signed by the President) is law. Executive orders and fiats, with the stroke of a pen endure (or wiped away) just as easily by the next guy. If it’s your guy/gal, you’re golden; if not, it’s the bed you made.

If you choose to govern in this manner, you risk your legacy being wiped away (like with a cloth or something) in the same manner by the next administration. And… it should be. If you choose not to work within the framework of the Constitution, then your policy deserves the same respect (or lack thereof) you afforded the rule of law.

Obama’s signature accomplishment, Obamacare, too should suffer a similar fate (as his executive fiats). While actually passed by Congress (into law), it was done so with no opposition input, was by design deceptive, and once in practice a disaster. It should be ripped up by the roots and thrown on the ash heap of history. That said, it will be up to Trump and the Republicans to come up with something that actually works and helps. Let’s see if they can do any better.

So that’s Obama’s legacy. A repudiation of pretty well eight years of trudging along at best. Eight years of the world getting more and more dangerous for America and her interests. The man was a boob, and history will record him as such.

Hillary and Bill:
Hillary and Bill Clinton are co-conspirators in an organized crime ring; selling influence and worse from the State Department for many years. The Clinton Foundation was the means of access, the means of funneling, and the means of laundering the money.

“When the director of the F.B.I. laid bare her gross negligence for arrogantly setting up her own email system while secretary of state and announced there would be no prosecution, you could hear the heavens thunder for justice. Not since O.J. Simpson had someone so obviously guilty by the facts, walked away.” — Kevin Dowd, Maureen Dowd’s more conservative brother

But we have a tradition of peaceful transition of power. We do not jail our opponents after an election. We should err on the side of freeing the guilty in order to maintain that practice.

My advice for Trump is to let the justice system (the FBI) run its course with no interference or input on his part.

Now the Obama Justice Department has rigged the system and protected the Clintons so far. That obstruction needs to be rectified once Lynch is gone. One of the main impediments put in place is the DOJ refusal of allowing a grand jury to be seated; which gives more leverage in investigating wrong-doing.

FBI director Comey has been an idiot throughout this whole ordeal, BUT… if it is Trump’s gut feel that Comey has been on the up-and-up… then I would allow him (and more importantly the career FBI investigators) to continue the investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

But, to be honest, we’ve reached a point where a special prosecutor needs to pick this up and bring it to a conclusion. Trump should seek Democratic input in this process (like selecting someone as impartial as possible) as an olive branch. If they refuse, or (as is more likely) seek to demagogue and obfuscate the process then %$#@ them, and move forward making the process as honest and transparent as possible.

So.. make sure the process is fair and let it take its course. While that works its way through the system… Shut up about it until the results are in and then live with those results (no matter what they are) and move on.

Now assuming there were an indictment (and/or conviction) in the future. And I understand that’s a big IF. There is already talk of a pardon. That’s the President’s call… BUT I would say that no pardon should be on the table unless there were some public admission of guilt and some display of contrition.

All of this may be mute based on the fact that President Barack Hussein Obama still has two plus months left in office. I wouldn’t put anything past that man…

The time left in the Clinton’s allotment of fame (well beyond the 15 minutes of mere mortals) are not going to be pleasant ones. Not for the public, not for them. Nor should they be… (the heavens want what they want). But even Clinton’s supporters, apologists, and protectors wish they would just go away now… so quickly they turn on you when you fail them…

“The Clintons remind me of the Universal horror movies where you thought the monster was dead and then the monster would show up in a bad sequel. I’m glad now that they’re finally gone.” — Maureen Dowd, New York Times

The Market:
Dow futures were down 600-700 points the night of the election when it became obvious that Trump had won. By this morning, everything had stabilized. Why? Because the conjecture arose that NOW the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates.

This is further proof that the entire 18K stock market is built on a bubble of artificially low interest rates (the horrendous Fed policy). This basically means for almost a decade the Federal government has kept money cheap so as to make it possible to maintain huge deficits. All this on the backs of people who save and are retired (aka, the responsible). It’s is delinquent and immoral.

It will hurt (the economy). It will hurt a lot. But this needs to be rectified… before it’s too late.

The Polls:
In the last Presidential cycle (Obama/Romney), I didn’t believe the polls and they ended up being right. (I found it inconceivable that we would elect such a boob for President… TWICE.) This time, I believed the polls (partly because of their accuracy last time) AND they were wrong. (I think they fell for the same bias I did last time.)

A good half or more of the polls are less concerned with accuracy than with pushing voters in a particular (mostly left) direction. A few are actually interested in the scientific prediction of what is statistically likely to happen. Unfortunately, it is generally hard to know which is which. (Though if you see an MSM tag on one… you can pretty well easily classify and dismiss it.)

OK, so the polls were wrong this time, and giving them the benefit of the doubt (on bias), why were they so wrong?

The theory I am most apt to believe is that their samples were corrupted by the distrust and disdain conservatives and Trump supporters have for the main stream media and by extension the polls.

I’ll admit it right now. If a pollster approached me, the first thing I would want to know is who he was affiliated with… and the answer to THAT question would affect my answers to his questions. No answer to my question on affiliation equals no answer to his; and any association to the MSM will likely result in me either 1) refusing to participate or 2) lying to them. The increasing prevalence of this attitude makes it harder and harder for these guys to gather the data their models are so dependent on.

I hope this is the reason, and I hope this problem continues.

Conclusion:
Again, I will follow the lead of others and start with a clean slate. I’ll do my best to maintain an open mind and allow Trump to lead and govern. I hope he turns things around, since I and a majority of this nation think we are headed in the wrong direction. As we move forward, I’ll call balls and strikes as I see ‘em… I hope that four years from now, I am a Trump convert.

I can’t claim to be optimistic, but I can give my hopes and prayers to the man. God speed…

Today (10/23/2015), the Department of Justice announced (after two years) that their investigation of the targeting of conservatives by the IRS has been closed. The results of the investigation? Nothing. Lois Lerner, the main instigator and manager of the targeting gets off scott-free to enjoy her pension and retirement. Nobody under Lerner faces any consequences. Nothing will be done concerning this organized criminal activity within the IRS that took place over at least a two year period (2010 through 2012).

The left (politicians, bureaucrats, activists, media, and rank and file) did a fantastic job of managing and taking advantage of this… crises.

First they hid (and probably destroyed) as much of the evidence as they could (mostly email of course)

Then they did a shell game as to who was to blame… rogue agents in an distant office…

Then nobody was to blame… the instructions were just too obscure…

Then there wasn’t really a scandal… liberal groups were targeted just as much… (a lie by the way)

And finally (the coup de grace) the Republicans were to blame… it was just another witch hunt from the beginning…

To be honest this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Enough time has passed; enough smoke blown up the collective posteriors of the people, so that the Feds are now comfortable to sweep this thing under the rug and be done with it.

We unfortunately live in a law-less age; more so under the Obama administration than ever before. The Constitution? The rule of law? Equal application of the law? Thrown out the window by the fascist left and those who support them. The bureaucrats at the IRS suit up in their (figurative) brown shirts and do the lefts bidding (obviously with impunity). The media turns a blind eye to the abuse or worse pushes misinformation and propaganda. And once exposed (not by the media but the persecuted themselves), the Department of Justice picks up the ball and makes sure nothing ever comes of it. Two years later… MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

This does not bode well for any accountability of Hillary Clinton concerning her email server fiasco (as if we ever expected any). As for the lefts response? It’s deja vu all over again. We see the same same responses in the same order by all involved. Destroyed evidence, shell games of blame, no real crime was committed, everybody did it, and (we’re at the next to last phase now) it’s a Republican witch hunt. The last phase will be the FBI finally announcing “nothing to see here”.

1984 is alive and well where titles and monikers mean their exact opposite. In 1984 we had War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, Ministry of Information. Today it’s the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation? Neither provide either.

“If you want a vision of the future imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever” — George Orwell (1984) … and thanks to the Department of Justice getting away with it.

See Something Say Something?
Everybody knows in post 911 “If You See Something, Say Something.” Taking that action has actually saved lives over the last decade; just as missing that something has cost lives. It’s really good advise in times of war.

But… from the lefts perspective we’re not at war. So what do you do with the advise given above.

You do what is in the nature of liberalism to do. You fake it. You give it lip service. Then you wink and nod and offer secret handshakes when in the exclusive company of your own. That’s when you condescendingly explain to your fellow liberals the clinging to religion and guns mentality of the unwashed.

Finally you watch for opportunity to tear down the hated things society forces you to pretend to love or support; and if you can manufacture such opportunity, so much the better. For the left, appearance, words, and intentions trump reality and actual results.

It’s funny, but that mentality is very Islamic. Lying and deceit are perfectly fine with Allah when dealing with infidels; as long as the deceit serves Allah (and his prophet I suppose). Replace Allah with the god of liberalism and… there you go.

So when it comes to “If You See Something, Say Something”, Liberalism and Islam-ism have a common enemy; though (at least here in the U.S.) neither can admit it. They can however attack and subvert the foundation of the idea when the opportunity arises. This is done through the cudgels of race-hustling, grievance-mongering, and political correctness.

Cue the Opportunity and Hell to Pay:
As we’ve probably all heard by now, Ahmed Mohamed is an inquisitive, electrically proficient, ninth grade youth living and going to school in Irving Texas. All of the above (except for the inquisitive part) are skills in high demand to men who share one or both of the kids given names.

This Mensa “genius” as described by every meat-head reporter doing a puff-piece… recently took a backpack full of circuit boards and wires to school. It took two teachers and an alarm beeping from his backpack before enough was seen and something said.

And just so we’re clear here in the terms of the left and the Islamists. “See Something, Say Something” is fine. Just understand this. If you do, you had better be right; OR if you’re wrong, it had better be about a Caucasian male. Otherwise there will be hell to pay.

Ahmed was detained, questioned, and released to his parents… Ohhh the humanity. The real error in all of this is that it took a second teacher and an alarm in the middle of class to achieve this result.

Cue the Islamic Stench:
Setting that important detail aside… let me take this one step further. This story of this whole scenario stinks to high heaven. Here are a few whiffs to consider.

First Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed (father to Ahmed), isn’t just some mild mannered immigrant now caught up in an innocent feel-good Muslim victim news story. He “occasionally” returns to Sudan (where he came from) to run for president. Yeah… normal people do that all the time. And remember that nut in Florida burning the Qurans? This Mohamed is the Mohamed who made national headlines debating him.

Second, CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) and it’s lawyers got real involved real quick. These are the terrorist supporting community organizers constantly stirring up trouble where ever they can. CAIRs message here is crystal clear. If “See Something… Keep Your Dam Mouth Shut If It Involves a Muslim or You Will Be Branded as a Racist Islamophobic Bastard!”

Thirdly, there is the just plain old common sense factor. Nobody (much less a genius as he is depicted) is so void of common sense as to believe a backpack full of circuit boards, wires and maybe a clock display taken to a school is anything other than asking… begging even… for trouble.

But Ahmed, his parents, and the left would have us believe that this little “genius” would just as innocently try to pass this through White House security and claim… “It’s just a clock… no it doesn’t look like a bomb to me…” Also imagine the reaction of Obama’s security detail to such a device. Ahmed has been invited to White House by the panderer in Chief. Might I suggest to the family that they show up a little early for a tour of the visitor center (without giving Barry a heads-up) and don’t forget the clock. 🙂 You want to see a reaction? You want to see a few guns drawn? And this way the whole family could be involved.

My point… the suspension of disbelief from journalists, the left, and Islamic apologist (on such a national scale) is phenomenal here. But logic and reality have never been their strong points.

Finally, when told by his first teacher (the science guy) NOT to show this to anyone else. What did our innocent little genius Mohamed do? He didn’t turn it off. He didn’t stash it in a locker. No, he stuffed it in a backpack and had an alarm go off in English class. THEN… instead of just turning off the alarm… he yanks it out and does exactly what he was warned not to do. Show it to another teacher.

That is when he got the reaction he (as instructed by dear old dad) was looking for; someone seeing something and saying something… and the proper recourse that comes with it.

That’s right. I’m saying this sh#t was orchestrated by Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed and carried out by his son Ahmed Mohamed. And it worked. It got the leftist reaction they were looking for AND the Islamic reaction they were looking for (via CAIR). It would not surprise me if CAIR (at some level) was involved from the beginning as well.

This has the stink of lying and deceit directed at infidels for the benefit of Allah all over it. see Lying (Taqiyya and Kitman) And who can blame them? Misdirection and deceit have the blessing of Allah (and his prophet, Allah bless him and protect him and blah blah blah).

Allah’s Reward:
For his reward, Ahmed now has the admiration of the President (not to mention a White House visit), various leftist politicians and business leaders (invites from Google, Twitter). Ahmed is the bell of the liberal ball. CAIR (and their lawyers) have formed a circle around the family ready to milk this for all the propaganda (and dollars) it’s worth.

And finally, there is the Main Stream media. “The story immediately became ubiquitous not because of what actually happened, but because it can be used to further a story that the media already want to tell: that the United States is morally corrupt and irredeemably racist; that Muslims are under siege; that “white privilege” blinds the majority of Americans to the corruption at the heart of everything red, white, and blue.” (Kevin Williamson, National Review)

Looking for a More Inclusive School:
Conveniently, the Mohameds have decided Ahmed will find a more “inclusive” institution to continue his education. I submit that decision was made by father, son, and family some time ago. I have a few suggestion… all of them outside of Texas, most of them in Sudan.

I give a lot of grief to the left all the time, so let me comment on something my side got wrong.

Forty-seven Senators, led by Senator Tom Cotton, recently sent an open letter to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran informing them that any deal they struck with Obama (and not confirmed by the Senate) was only as good as the word of the President and subject to be reascended by the next President with a simple executive order.

Now before I sound too much like a Democrat… I have no problem with the content of the letter. It states as fact how our Constitution works (despite what Obama and the left would like to be true). It also states a message that needed to be sent to our enemies (foreign and domestic).

I have no problem with the Senate trying to influence (or even undermine) what the President is trying to do with Iran. President Obama is trying to make a deal with the devil for political and personal (legacy) reasons at the expense of U.S. interest and our allies (Israel, and “moderate” Muslim nations).

Hillary Clinton (hoping to get the press to concentrate on this issue other than her email) said “There appear to be two logical answers. Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the commander in chief in the midst of high-stakes international diplomacy.”

It’s the latter. In this case (more than most) Obama’s plans NEED to be undermined by good and patriotic men.

OK… So the message needed to be sent. The Iranians needed to get that message. Obama needed to get that message. Where these Senators went wrong was simply the means of delivery they chose for the message. This sets a bad precedent. Public officials should not be sending open letters to our enemies who are negotiating with our commander in chief. Obama is doing his job under the authority of the Constitution no matter how bad he is actually doing that job.

Yes, Obama is incompetent. Yes, Obama should take any agreement of this magnitude to the Senate. Yes, Obama and the Iranians should be thwarted… But there will be other Presidents after this boob; hopefully intelligent, thoughtful, competent Presidents. It’s the office that was damaged when it shouldn’t have been and when it didn’t have to be.

Other means could have been used to accomplish the same thing. The one that immediately comes to mind is that the Senators could have submitted the exact same letter as an Op/Ed to the New York Times. Everyone who needed to get that message would have received it; Iran, the President… All enemies of the Republic after all read the New York Times. 🙂

In November 2014, President Barack Obama has issued executive orders to basically not enforce immigration law for some 5 million people. This is an attempt to begin the process of de facto amnesty. So… here’s my take…

Constitutional?
What Obama did was indeed beyond his Constitutional authority. He knows that. He’s stated it point blank many times. The problem is that Obama doesn’t give a rat’s posterior about the Constitution (the principles of which he has sworn to protect). It’s a character thing.

The Straw-men:
Obama claims that he is doing nothing that Republicans like Reagan and Bush did. This argument is simply slight or hand meant to cloud the issue. Other Presidents have indeed used executive orders to affect the enforcement of immigration law, but always in an attempt to enforce the letter and spirit of legislation duly passed by the Congress; NOT to create law Congress should have (in the President’s opinion) passed.

It’s generally pretty easy to find an equivalent situation that demonstrates the hypocrisy of the left when it comes to these scenarios. The Keystone XL pipeline offers such an opportunity. This would be like the House of Representatives deciding that the Senate and President should have acted on the pipeline instead of keeping the project in limbo for years. What if the House had approved the project, appropriated the funds, found someone to make it happen and bypassed the Senate and the President. Harry Reid refused to allow a vote (which would probably have passed before the election), just as the House did on “Comprehensive Immigration”. Neither legislative branch is required to vote on every bill passed by the other. Reid, in fact has been much more guilty of this sin than Boehner. And then there is Obama, who claimed he kind-of might think about support the pipeline if it ever reached his desk… But the logic goes… with no action taken, surely the House would be justified in moving forward on such an important issue.

But in reality, NO, they wouldn’t. In fact, if the House and Senate can’t get the Keystone XL pipeline though in 2015 (possibly having to override a Presidential veto), then it should not go forward. It should become a possible issue in the 2016. But the process should be followed.

In another example, tax reform is every bit as important is immigration reform. Do you think the next President (possibly a Republican) should have the same prerogative on enforcement of tax law if Congress fails to act? Can the President simply instruct the Treasury and IRS to not collect taxed for a certain group or enforce certain tax laws. Of course not. The idea is absurd, and THIS is no different.

Republican Action:So what should the Republicans do? What the President has done here is impeachable. And in a perfect world, one in which the rule of law means something, that is exactly what should and would happen. But alas, we do not live in such a world. (In such a world, Lois Lerner would already be in jail.)

Republicans should stay calm and collected and look at the ramifications of their options. They should define their real goals, and evaluate what options/actions can realistically move us towards those goals during this time of Constitutional crisis. They should choose options that achieve goals while minimizing the damage to the nation.

The Republicans in the Legislature should use what power (Constitutionally) they have to directly thwart the President. That begins with the “power of the purse” in the House of Representative. While I understand that it is next to impossible to use that power to get the President to do something he is refusing to do (like secure the border); it can be used to prevent any money from being spent on what little requires bureaucratic action (like the issuing of green cards). This is precisely how the Republicans (and a few Democrats) prevented Obama from closing down Guantanamo. They basically told the President, “You and Holder want to bring all the terrorists over here and put them in American courts? Knock yourself out. You just can’t spend one red cent of federal money doing it.”

Now when it comes to the “power of the purse”, I’m not saying we have another government shut-down. Don’t get me wrong, I like and support government shutdowns; but they have proven to be ineffective due to the main stream media amplifying the feigned leftist hysterics to great effect. Thus the Republicans need to be smart in how they use this power.

The Senate (once controlled by the GOP) too should extract some costs from Obama for his actions. I like Ted Cruz’s idea of using the Senate’s Constitutional power of “advise and consent”. Thus, no more hearings on Obama nominations, with a few exceptions for positions that may have some affect on public safety.

The main point here is that we can use lawful and Constitutional means to thwart lawless behavior by the Commander in Chief. Will there be much wailing and gnashing of teach by the left (and amplified by the main stream media)? Yes. That is where cojones (balls) come in; and granted those are not a Republican strong point.

Comprehensive?
At the same time. The Republicans should move forward putting legislation on the desk of the President; starting with the Keystone XL Pipeline. In some cases, this is simply a means of exposing the lefts feigned support of issues (like Keystone XL) and in others an opportunity to get things done in a bipartisan manner. Legislation sent to the President should also include simple straight forward bills concerning fixing immigration.

But know this. “Comprehensive” when describing desired legislation is Washington speak for “Obfuscation”. Comprehensive means to design something so enormous that the devil can easily been hidden in the details. Comprehensive means that the “Stupidity of the American Voter” (see Jonathan Gruber, Obamacare Architect) can be used to deceive and hide costs, results, and ramifications. After the Obamacare fiasco, nothing coming out of Washington should ever again be “comprehensive”. Not immigration reform, not health care, not twiddly winks… NOTHING.

“Comprehensive” is the bill that came out of the Senate. THAT is what the Obama and the left want; and it should remain dead on arrival in the House.

First off, no matter the spin (and there has been lots of it) 2014 was an ASSWOOPING. The Republicans hold more of the House than they have since World War II. They have (minimal) control of the Senate and may expand on that control. (Though when you count the RINOs from the North-East there’s not much there.)

I guess the results we saw were the best we could have hoped for. 🙂 I’m just disappointed that the best we could hope for will matter so little in the lives of the American people and the decline this once great nation.

Looking at what I expect this election to mean, my opinion can be summed up in the words “Meh… whatever…”

I stick by my continued assessment of the two party system. That being… “The Democrats are taking this nation straight to hell at a dead run… and every now and then we elect a few Republicans who slow us down to a trot.”

We’re still heading in the wrong direction… still going straight to hell… just a little slower. So here’s to trotting along for a while. I guess it beats the alternative of the dead run but it’s really hard to get excited.

My regret is there isn’t a third alternative… and won’t be until conservatives realize the Republicans are NEVER going to turn around, never going to be part of the solution. And this “oh sh!t” moment may never come.

Democrats Reaction:
It’s hard to really know what the Democrats think about the elections. By this I mean it’s really hard to tell if they are just continuing the lies or if they are deluded enough to actually believe the lies. They’re that good!

We’re a bunch of racist is one of the main assessments of the election. “I’ll be very, very honest with you. The South has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans.” — Senator Mary Landrieu LA on Obama and why she’s in so much trouble. The race pimps like Al Sharpton are pushing worse… Meanwhile, these conservative racists elected black conservative Senators and Representatives…

Obama was shunned and every Democrat on the face of the planet ran away from him and his policies. Some would not even say publicly that they had voted for him. Really? Unfortunately (for the Dems) as Obama said himself, his policies were “on the ballot, every single one of them”. He was right… thus the ASSWOOPING.

Obama’s Reaction:
Obama’s initial reaction was… “To everyone who voted, I want you to know that I hear you. To the two-thirds of voters who chose not to participate in the process yesterday, I hear you, too.”

Translation: “To the majority of voters who voted against me… kiss my ass…” In defense of this tact, I’m absolutely positive that Obama won overwhelmingly among those two-thirds of non-voting idiots.

In Obama’s favor in all of this, what he lacks in competence he more than makes up in hubris. It’s amazing that a man so completely devoid of balls when it comes to dealing with our foreign enemies, can suddenly find them when it comes to fundamentally destroying the Constitution and the nation in general.

Republican Reaction:
The Republican reaction remains to be seen. If history is any indication they will fold lawn chair. This is what I expect and I dare not hope for anything else.

If they find a pair, I would recommend the following… and it wouldn’t even be that hard to do. It could be bipartisan even. Put on Obama’s desk bill after bill after bill supported by a vast majority of Americans (Republican and Democrat). Obama will veto many of them. Good. Let the Democrats explain it for the next two years.

Can the Republicans get around trying to actually address hot button issues like immigration. Absolutely. But nothing “comprehensive”. Comprehensive is just leftist speak for behemoth and unintelligible so that no one knows what’s in it. Obamacare was comprehensive.

Do the Republicans have the brains (or balls) to actually lead? Probably not… but once again they have the opportunity to prove me wrong.